REPORT ON THE INTEGRATED LAND TENURE ASSESSMENT OF THE CDI CITIES AND ANTIPOLO CITY
Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project
CONTRACT NO. AID-492-H-15-00001
SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
This report is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This report was prepared by LGI Consultants, Inc. under contract with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of ICMA.
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page i Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016
REPORT ON THE INTEGRATED LAND TENURE ASSESSMENT
Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project
CONTRACT NO. AID-492-H-15-00001
Program Title: USAID/SURGE Sponsoring USAID Office: USAID/Philippines Contract Number: AID-492-H-15-00001 Contractor: International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Date of Publication: September 29, 2016
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page i Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016 Contents
I. Introduction 1
A. Objectives & Purpose of the Assessment Study 1 B. Scope and Methodology of the Study 2 C. Analytical Framework 3 II. Integrated Assessment 7
A.Land Resources Inventory 7 B.Cadastral Survey and Titling 10 C. Access to Land Information 15 D.Perception of Private Sector on Quality of LAM Services 18 E.Related Programs 22 F.Status of City-Owned Lands 23 G.Land Tenure-Related Issues 26 III. General Recommendations 29
A.Establish Unified Land Information System (ULIS) 29 B.Titling to harness the potential of land for investments 30 C.Management of government lands 31 D.Addressing land constraints 31 E.Preparation of land tenure improvement plan for new growth areas 32 IV. City Specific Recommendations 33
A.Antipolo City 33 B. Batangas City 34 C. Cagayan de Oro City 36 D. Iloilo City 37 E. Puerto Princesa City 37 F. Tagbilaran City 38 G. Zamboanga City 38 References 52
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page ii Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016
List of Tables
Table 1. Land Area Estimates, CDI Cities 7 Table 2. Land Classification in CDI Cities, 2015 8 Table 3. Existing Land Uses in CDI Cities, 2015 9 Table 4. Status of Cadastral Surveys and Titling 11 Table 5. Estimated Number of Parcels 12 Table 6. City-Owned Properties in Cagayan de Oro 25 Table 7. Summary of Proposed SURGE Intervention on Land Tenure 32 Table 8. Proposed Map Overlays 34
List of Figures
Figure 1. LPTR Linkages with Economic Growth 4 Figure 2. Projection of Titled Property in Zamboanga City’s Coastal Area 15
Annexes
Annex 1. Checklist of Land Information for Surge Cities 40 Annex 2. Selected Photos 43 Annex 3. List of Persons Met 49
References
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page iii Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016 Acronyms
A&D Alienable and Disposable ADB/JFPR Asian Development Bank/ Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction AID Agencies for International Development AusAID Australian Agency for International Development AVP Assistant Vice President BBA Bohol Bankers Association BCCI Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry BIR Bureau of Internal Revenue CAD Cadastral Survey CADTs Certificate of Ancestral Doman Titles CAR Certificate Authorizing Registration CARP Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program CASSO City Assessor’s Office CBFM Community Based Forest Management CCM Climate Change Mitigation CDI Cities Development Initiatives CDO Cagayan de Oro CENRO City Environment and Natural Resources Office CGT Capital Gains Tax CLENRO City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office CLOAS Certificate of Land Ownership Awards CLUPS Comprehensive Land Use Plans CNC Certificate of Non-Coverage COA Commission on Audit COMPETE Advancing Philippines Competitiveness Project CPA City Project Assistant CPC City Program Coordinator CPDC City Planning and Development Coordinator CPDO City Planning and Development Office CREBA Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations Inc. CTC Certified True Copy DAO Department Administrative Order DAR Department of Agrarian Reform DBM Department of Budget and Management DCDB Digital Cadastral Database DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources DFID Department for International Development DILG Department of the Interior and Local Government DND Department of National Defense EC Environmental Certificate ECC Environmental Compliance Certificate ENRO Environment and Natural Resources Office EP Emancipation Patents FLBD Forest Land Boundary Delineation FP Free Patent GDP Gross Domestic Product GIS Geographic Information System
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GPS Global Positioning System GSD General Services Department GSO General Services Officer HLURB Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board ICMA International City/County Management Association ICR Implementation Completion Report IEC Information, Education and Communication IRA Internal Revenue Allotment LAM Land Administration Management LAMP Land Administration Management Project LAMP2-ISF Land Administration Management Project Phase 2 – Innovation Support Fund LAMS Land Administration Management System LAOO Local Assessment Operations Officer LARES Land Registration System Incorporation LBP Land Bank of the Philippines LEI Land Equity International LGI Land and Governance Innovations Consultants, Inc. LGU Local Government Unit LIP Land-based Information Platform LMB Land Management Bureau LMS Land Management Services LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas LPTR Land Tenure and Property Rights LRA Land Registration Authority LTCP Land Titling Computerization Project LTOO Local Treasury Operations Officer MIGEDC Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic Development Council MOPA Memorandum of Partnership Agreement MSP Miscellaneous Sales Patent NAMRIA National Mapping and Resource Information Authority NCIP National Commission on Indigenous People NGA National Government Agency OCT Original Certificate of Title OIC Officer-in-Charge PAREB Philippine Association of Real Estate Brokers PCCI Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry PENRO Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office PREP Property Rights for Economic Reform Project RA Republic Act RD Regional Director RDENR Regional Department of Environment and Natural Resources REGALA Support to Local Government Revenue Generation and Land Administration Reforms Project RoD Registry of Deeds RPT Real Property Tax RPU Real Property Unit SAT Systematic Adjudication and Titling SHDA Socialized Housing Developers Association SMV Schedule of Market Values SURGE Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page v Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016 TCT Transfer Certificate of Title TOR Terms of Reference ULIS Unified Land Information System USAID United States Agency for International Development WB World Bank
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page vi Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016
I. Introduction
The Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) is a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Project in the Philippines, awarded to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The objective of the SURGE program is to enable second‐tier cities to become economically thriving and resilient growth centers outside the metropolises of Manila, Cebu and Davao. As engines of growth, these cities will provide a better quality of life for residents and people in surrounding areas. By the end of SURGE, activities are expected to have contributed to higher levels of investment and employment for both the second‐ tier and adjacent rural areas. Activities under SURGE are also expected to improve urban resilience by enhancing disaster risk preparedness, thereby ensuring sustainable growth.
The SURGE project aims to contribute to inclusive growth by (1) improving local capacity in inclusive and resilient urban management and processes (2) promoting low emission local economic development strategies and (3) expanding urban rural connectivity and access. Since investments power local growth, Component 2 of SURGE works toward making cities more competitive by promoting measures that lower the cost of doing business, strengthening partnerships with the private sector, capacitating city officials to effectively promote investments, and improving land tenure security and land information system.
Land tenure and property rights are seen as key to developing more competitive cities, particularly in the SURGE cities which are experiencing rapid economic growth, as manifested by ongoing construction activities. Unleashing the potential of more secure tenure and property rights will spur land market activity, and attract further investments in land development. In the same way, unlocking the bottlenecks faced by real estate industry players in securing locational clearances, conversion of agricultural land, mobilization of land, and making land information more reliable, up-to-date and available, could produce strong economic impacts in the SURGE cities.
This assessment covers the first scoping study on the status of land tenure and associated issues in the Cities Development Initiative (CDI) cities, including Antipolo City. Given the lack of information and the way land information is spread among agencies, it is envisioned that as SURGE works in the cities, more detailed and accurate information will be gathered to be used as inputs to deepen engagement. Nonetheless, the data gathered were deemed sufficient to establish the state of land tenure and administration in the cities, and develop recommendations accordingly.
This report addresses Task 2.3.1: Improve land tenure security, Output 2.3.1.1.1: Land tenure profiles for the CDI cities.
A. Objectives & Purpose of the Assessment Study
The objective of this assessment is to gather all relevant land information and describe the land tenure issues in the cities. The end view is to define the scope of SURGE support in the areas of land tenure and property rights improvement, and develop more reliable and up-to-date land information system for use by cities in land use planning, land management, real property taxation, valuation, and promotion of investments on land.
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page 1 Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016
B. Scope and Methodology of the Study
In the context of this assessment, the following aspects of land tenure security and property rights were investigated:
Land resources inventory. This includes references to various estimates of land area, the amount of land under various legal classifications, and allocation to different land uses. The information suggests the constraints to land development, and/or available supply of land to meet various demands. The information was gathered from secondary sources, and compared with local government unit (LGU) data.
Status of cadastral surveys and extent of titling. Completion of cadastre signifies confirmation of the extent of city land area jurisdiction and readiness for individual titling of parcels. Errors in surveys and missing surveys resulted in overlaps in LGU jurisdictional boundaries, uncertainty of land area as basis of internal revenue allotment (IRA), and issues in titling. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was the main source of this information which was validated with the city assessor’s office and other agencies using survey records. It must be noted that no agency has accurate counts of parcels with and without titles. Thus, only estimates were derived from key informants.
Access to land information. DENR holds cadastral records, public land applications and approved subdivision/consolidation surveys. The Registry of Deeds (RoD) holds title records, including transactions on these properties. The Land Registration Authority (LRA) maintains approved subdivision/consolidation surveys. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) holds records of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) and coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) processes ancestral domain claims into titles. The assessment reviewed the LGUs’ access to all the information which is crucial for planning, titling, property taxation, and promotion of investments in property development.
Perception of the private sector on quality of land administration and management (LAM) services, and potential (and constraints) to development. The experiences of real estate brokers, subdivision developers, and others engaged in land development on access to land information; constraints to and availability of land for development; transactions with RoD, DENR and LGUs in the registration of titles; review and approval of subdivision plans; and securing locational clearances and development permits were gathered. Likewise, the forecasts of the private sector on trends and potential for investments in property development in the city were noted. The information was obtained through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and secondary data.
Related programs of other agencies. A review of the presence and status of agency programs that could affect tenure security was made. This includes the status of CARP implementation, implementation of land administration and management system (LAMS) by the DENR, computerization of the RoD; processing of certificate of ancestral domain titles (CADTs), an LGU- led titling program, and related initiatives.
Status of city-owned lands. The assessment looked at the availability of inventories of city- owned lands, whether these are all titled in the name of the city government, information on location and current uses, and LGU plans for the management of these lands.
USAID Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project Page 2 Report on Integrated Land Tenure Assessment, September 2016
Land tenure related issues. Concerns on enforcement of rights, registration of properties, efficiency of titling, overlaps of legal instruments, and other constraints to the development of a sound property rights system in the city were documented through key informant interviews.
Because land information is distributed among agencies, integrated mapping and consolidation of these data are necessary to generate overlays that are useful for analysis. This is a limitation of the assessment. Each city assessment took only two to three days which did not allow such mapping analyses to take place. Moreover, such consolidation would require access to all data and records of the agencies. This was not possible during the assessment. At the time of the assessment, the DENR was in the process of grooming and/or encoding their records in preparation for the LAMS; therefore, it was not possible to access their records. Moreover, since most RoDs have fully computerized systems, access to records would be possible only through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the LGU and the LRA contractor, the Land Registration Systems (LARES). Thus, information on titling coverage for example, were only estimates and not exact figures.
C. Analytical Framework
There is considerable wealth of literature that puts importance on the role of property rights among institutions promoting growth, and the role of the state in formalizing and protecting such rights1. This stems from the argument that “institutions are powerful determinants of growth, and that property rights represent one category of economic institutions” (Rodrik, as cited in DFID, 2014).2
There are four pathways by which secure property rights influence economic activity and resource allocation:3